Sorita interviews KATIE GERRARD

Sorita d'Este in her "Garden Office" with a copy of the book Seidr by Katie Gerrard

In this interview the author Sorita  d’Este, who runs the independent esoteric publishing company Avalonia, interviews Katie Gerrard, author of the new book SEIDR – THE GATE IS OPEN (Avalonia, 2011) about her work, research and practices.

Katie Gerrard is a writer, researcher and workshop facilitator with a passion for the magic of Seidr and the Runes. She has been studying the different forms of Norse magic and working with the Norse Gods since discovering them in the 1990s, when she was at university in West Wales.

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Find out more about the book Seidr – The Gate is Open by Katie Gerrard on the Avalonia website: http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/221/?page_id=1113

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This interview is part of a series of online events hosted by the author this weekend to celebrate the release of her book.  Also see the FB group for details other resources about Seidr: http://www.facebook.com/ukseidr

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Sorita :: Your book Seidr – The Gate Is Open has the subtitle Working with Trance Prophecy, the High Seat and Norse Witchcraft.  Can you elaborate on the connection between these three themes?

Katie :: The term Seidr can apply to many different areas and practises, based on examples referred to in the Norse eddas and sagas. Modern Seidr practise can be even more wide ranging, but a lot of the better known examples focus on divinatory and prophetic uses. The Seer goes into an altered state (or trance) in order to gain access to the wisdom they need to be able to prophesise. The High Seat rite is a trance prophecy rite, but it isn’t the only trance prophecy rite written about in the book and is a very specific rite, hence having its own part of the subtitle. Norse Witchcraft basically refers to practises that are more witchcraft and sorcery based that prophetic. I use the term Norse Witchcraft also to make it clear that parts of the book, although relevant to Norse seidr workers, may not necessarily fit easily into the definition of seidr as they are not based specifically on things referred to as seidr within the sagas (although they do borrow from information found within the sagas).

Sorita :: Seidr seems to be presented in different ways by different authors.  How do you define Seidr?

Katie :: I think part of the reason that Seidr is presented in such different ways in contemporary use is that the term referred to many different practises in antiquity. If you look at a selection of examples from the Norse literature you will find a wide range with some of them overlapping and some not. In the book I talk about this and this forms the basis of my definition. Within contemporary use, a lot of seidr work is very intuitive and therefore certain examples will resonate more for one author than for another, and their practise and ideas will be shaped in order to suit the way that they work. This is a good thing. We aren’t able to 100% reconstruct the seidr of the past, even if it was something that could be pinpointed so the best thing for seidr today is for it to be a flowing and adapting tradition, inspired by the work of others but fitted instinctively for the needs of the people practising.

The definition I use in the book is: “Seidr is a term denoting supernatural actions within the old norse sagas and is used in a similar way to the words ‘sorcery’ and ‘witchcraft’.  Seidr in modern practice therefore becomes rituals and actions that are inspired by the supernatural events referred to as seidr within the old norse literature.”

Sorita :: The rituals you present in Seidr – The Gate Is Open are clearly well-rounded and the result of a great deal of practice.  What qualities do you feel are the most important to cultivate for the successful practice of Seidr?

Katie :: For me, the most important thing is to have an intelligent, intuitive, free thinking, and free speaking group of people to work with and bounce ideas off. The reason the rites in the book are so well rounded is because I am lucky to work with some fantastic people who work intuitively and ‘by the seat of their pants’; but that are also incredibly good at analysing and planning rites strategically. When we have guests working with us they are often really surprised by the way that the group sits and evaluates after a rite, working out why the energy flowed the way it did, what worked really well, and what things could be changed in order to make it run more smoothly if and when we do the rite again. I think it is also really important to research your subject area as much as possible before you start, and also to know what the aims of the rite are before you start. The right combination of research, planning, experimentation, intuition, and analysis is what I think ultimately you are looking for, plus the dedication to keep practising. All the thinking in the world is not going to replace experience.

Sorita :: The High Seat seems to be the most significant rite in your book.  Which of the rites is your favourite and why?

Katie :: The High Seat rite perhaps seems most significant because it is the rite that we have been doing the longest. It looks very different now to the way it did a decade ago. It is also a rite that has a real community feel to it so is one that a lot of people may have been to. Perhaps more importantly, it is a rite that is based on practises that other groups and practitioners are doing (albeit in slightly different formats) across the world which means that it has a lot of energy and strength behind it.

In terms of a favourite rite, I think each of the rites have their place within seidr and norse witchcraft practise and as such would find it difficult to differentiate between them as I would use different rites for different needs and events.

Sorita :: You give a lot more credit to other authors and groups for their influence on you than many authors.  Which authors would you say have particularly influenced you, and why?

Katie :: There are a lot of things in my life that I would never have discovered or learnt without access to the writing of others, and seidr is definitely one of those things! I first came across the term in a Kveldulf Gundarsson book and for some reason was absolutely hooked, so although it was a very small detail, he would have to be my first influence in seidr. Once I started looking for information on the subject one of the first real sources of information – and of contemporary practical information – was Diana Paxson’s article ‘The Return of the Volva’ which was shared on the internet. As we didn’t have the internet at the time it was only a print out that my friend and I had to work from, but it was absolutely essential to us practically and even today, the concepts behind the High Seat rite (such as the journey to Helheim for example) heavily borrow from Diana Paxson’s work. I was able to be further inspired by Diana Paxson’s work through the writing of Jenny Blain and Robert J Wallis who also influenced me by bringing an academic slant to the subject and helping me to find a lot of the primary and secondary sources through their bibliographies. Edred Thorson and James Chisholm’s Source Book of Seid is also an absolute must have for anyone looking into Seidr as it contains many examples of seidr within the sagas and where to find them. This was absolutely essential for me when writing this book.

Another author that has been a huge inspiration to me is Jan Fries, author of Seidways, whose book Kali Kaula has recently been published by Avalonia. Jan Fries’ thought processes and experimentation really helped to shape my views on seidr and also open my eyes to lots of similar practises and concepts.

Sorita :: In the past Seidr was sometimes referred to as ergi, or unmanly.  How relevant do you feel gender roles are in the practice of Seidr today?

The author Katie Gerrard

Katie :: It’s interesting how the concept of seidr as the female side of the Norse tradition has grown, but in a way the concept of seidr as the women’s mysteries side of heathenry is unhelpful as it could give the impression that heathenry and the Norse gods are more of a man’s tradition, when this isn’t the case. Certainly the warrior and mead hall aspects could be seen to be manlier than trance prophecy, but there is much more to the Norse than either of these things.

The term ergi is often linked with homosexuality and this is something that often leads people to assume that male seidr practitioners must be homosexual but in my experience I have not found this to be the case. Certainly, I know gay seidr workers but no more or less statistically than in anywhere else in society. Gender roles and gender research has changed dramatically over the last forty years since the first academic swing that tended to show gender roles as something that society puts in place rather than nature, but we are still aware that traditionally masculine and feminine traits are not limited to gender or sexuality. I see ergi as a similar concept. It is interesting to research and consider, but it shouldn’t stop people from pursuing practises such as seidr.

Sorita :: You place a lot of emphasis on the ancestors in this book.  How important do you think it is to include them in Seidr practices?

Katie :: Again, because Seidr covers so many different kinds of practise, it is difficult to generalise, or indeed to speak for other practitioners. However, in my personal practise the ancestors are very important. Within some of the rites, they are the ones that provide the wisdom for the prophecies; in others they provide an element of personal guidance and protection. For me, the ancestors are a part of me, their energy runs through me and my ability to research and talk about who they were means that I keep them alive for the next generation, who will also hopefully keep me alive in some way. This is not to say that ancestors must be genetic or cultural ancestors – those who have influenced us in whatever way, or who we feel a deep connection are not necessarily those who are genetically related to us, kinship within the Norse ran deeper than this and kinship within society runs deeper than this. Adoption and marriage into families does not have to be legally represented for kinship and ancestral relations to develop and grow.

Sorita :: In the conclusion to Seidr – The Gate Is Open you say you feel that Seidr has been rediscovered and the field is expanding all the time.  Where do you think the influence of Seidr will expand and be most significant in the coming years?

Katie :: I am fascinated by the way that the field of seidr is constantly expanding and developing. I have been speaking publically about seidr since 2003 and putting on semi-open rites since 2001 and have always found that those who are interested in the subject, (even if they only had a small idea of it, or had never heard the term beforehand) are very passionate and energetic about its practise and hungry to learn and experience more. The availability of primary source material online and in ebook form has meant that it is easier than ever to find the original sources, and the availability of secondary experience online and in book form means it is easier to pick up other people’s experiences and learn from them. The willingness of practitioners to share their rites and ideas with others across the world means that ideas can sprout wings and be explored far faster than they can in traditions where information is either oath bound or shrouded in mystery, and this makes Seidr a very exciting and fast moving thing to be a part of. The growth of blogs, ebooks, and self publishing has been an enormous influence on the pagan traditions in general, and we are only just seeing the start of this. My prediction (gleaned from consideration rather than trance!) is that more and more people will be inspired by seidr practitioners and will go back to source to discover and uncover more of the practises of the past and develop and experiment with making them work in their own traditions. Technology now allows them to share these as they develop them through blogs, and to present them once formed in many different ways, thus allowing others to be working the same current at the same time, rather than many years later when it reaches mainstream interest.

Sorita :: The titles and cover artwork of your two books Odin’s Gateways and Seidr – The Gate Is Open are clearly linked and suggest a possible series.  Can we expect further books following on from the themes you have explored in your work to-date?

Katie :: The subject areas of the two books are quite distinct, but certainly follow a Norse theme, and the cover artwork and titles show a natural coalition. Whilst I was writing Seidr: The Gate is Open I had really expanded on the Seer as a concept and this was reflected in a lot of material that I collected around this area. Some of the areas I was looking at I need to put a lot more research and experience into before they are ready to be shared. Because of this, and also because of the sheer size the resulting book was likely to be, I split the specifically Norse information off and focused on actually getting it into print after five years of promises! This means that sitting happily in my files is roughly 12,000 words waiting to be shaped and developed into something publishable! There are several areas that I want to really experiment with and research that really needs a few years to settle before it is ready to become book form, but I am hoping to be quietly working on it in the background. There are also areas that I think would work better fluffed up, over dramatised, and masqueraded as fiction so in the future there will be occult fiction books hopefully materialising too. At present I am giving myself a break and writing fiction that will be neither of these things so we’ll see how that develops over the next year!

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Book cover for Seidr - The Gate is Open by Katie Gerrard. Artwork by Laura Daligan.

Katie Gerrard is the author of Seidr-The Gate is Open (Avalonia, 2011) and Odin’s Gateways (Avalonia, 2009).  She also contributed essays to Vs. (anthology) edited by Kim Huggens; and Priestesses, Pythonesses & Sibyls (anthology) edited by Sorita d’Este.   You can find out more about Katie Gerrard by visiting her website www.thebirchtree.com or about the books at www.seidr.co.uk.   All these books, and many others published by Avalonia is available from www.avaloniabooks.co.uk – as well as from online shops such as Amazon, B&N; and all good pagan / occult bricks and mortar shops.

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Sorita d’Este is the author of around 18 books on mythology and magic, she has lectured and facilitated workshops around the work and her work has featured in many journals, anthologies, magazines and other publications.  You can find out more about her at www.sorita.co.uk.  She founded Avalonia in 1997 as a community website; transforming it into a publishing company in 2005 with the publication of The Guises of the Morrigan, which she co-authored with David Rankine.